VICTORIA — Premier Christy Clark lost no time Friday dismissing the latest opinion poll, which had her B.C. Liberals still trailing the New Democratic Party as campaign 2013 headed into the final weekend.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve had this discussion,” said Clark when asked about the NDP’s six-point lead during a session with The Vancouver Sun editorial board. “I’m going to ask you to go back and look at the 8,000 other comments about the value of the kind of polling that you (media) guys focus on.”

The survey in question was conducted by Ipsos Reid for Global TV and aired on the station’s noontime broadcast, about the same time that the results were relayed to Clark.

“We don’t rely on that type of information,” Clark continued. Instead her B.C. Liberals, like other political parties, poll in much greater depth and do so pretty much every day, with the focus on key ridings instead of provincewide results.

Those internal findings have her insisting publicly that the party is still “competitive” with the NDP where it needs to be, in order to win enough seats (43 is the minimum) to secure a fourth term.

During the same editorial board session, she also scoffed at speculation that her own seat might be up for grabs Tuesday. “I’m rolling my eyes right now,” was her reply when that speculation was put to her by a reporter participating via a conference call.

This close to voting day, with the gap in the polls less than half what it was at the outset of the campaign, there was nothing else for her to say on either score.

But both responses — not a whisper of a doubt in either — were illustrative of the relentless optimism that Clark has manifested throughout this campaign, going back to the days when the Liberals were being written off in all but a dozen or so seats.

Her closest friends and supporters predicted this all along. Through the darkest days of her term — the misbegotten ethnic memo, the dead-on-arrival throne speech, the faltering jobs numbers, the ... well, it is a long, long list — even many Liberals were speculating that she would somehow be forced out.

Again and again, reporters and pundits were told that we were “nuts” to expect that Clark would give up the premier’s office without one crack at a provincial election.

Politics was in her blood. She loved the game. She’d honed her communications skills during a successful turn in talk radio. She was a great campaigner.

She was supremely confident that, given 28 days on the hustings, she could make a better impression with the voters than the untried, awkward, bookish Adrian Dix.

I had my doubts. But she has proven to be a good campaigner, never mind that much of the content of her campaign has more to do with attacking the New Democrats or overselling her own accomplishments than presenting a credible vision for the future.

Some of the lustre of her campaign style even managed to make her look like a better fit for the office she assumed two years ago. The Ipsos survey had her narrowly edging Dix (albeit within the margin of error) as the “best premier,” 34 points to 31 points.

Not to suggest that either of them has wowed the electorate as well fitted for high office. But the result does tend to substantiate her observation that when governing, your performance is compared to perfection; when campaigning, you are being judged against your opponent.

Turning to the NDP’s reading of the electoral situation as the campaign entered its final weekend, there was some concern about the Greens cutting into the NDP chances of winning in some ridings.

Time was when NDP leader Adrian Dix preached that it was “hugely disrespectful to voters” to suggest there was anything wrong with voting for one of the alternatives to the two main parties. But then the main prospect for vote splitting was the Conservatives siphoning support from the Liberals.

On Friday, the NDP rolled out former premier Mike Harcourt for an event in Oak Bay, where he warned “those of you who are thinking about voting Green” that the only way to ensure a progressive government was “by voting NDP.”

Hugely disrespectful of the voters? Or proof positive that the New Democrats are desperate to prevent Andrew Weaver, the Green candidate in Oak Bay, from establishing a beachhead on the floor of the legislature?

Otherwise, the New Democrats maintain, based on their own internal polling and contrasting with the Liberal claim to competitiveness, that they are ahead in enough places to win a comfortable majority in the 50-seat range. And for me that is the plausible outcome.

The NDP is better organized, better at identifying its vote, better at getting it out to the polls. The party vote is more evenly distributed around the province, giving it an advantage over the Liberals in a close finish. The New Democrats are more united behind their leader. Plus they are hungrier, having been out of power for a dozen years.

On that basis, the odds continue to favour a change of government next week. But it now appears as if the voters will award Clark the consolation prize of electing a good-sized Liberal Opposition to hold the New Democrats to account.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.

Video

Today's News

Best of Postmedia

Swoop has yet to pick up a single customer, but Canada’s newest ultra-low-cost carrier is already talking about expanding into a market that is just taking off. Launched by WestJet Airlines Ltd., Calgary-based Swoop started booking customers this month for flights that begin this summer connecting five Canadian cities. It is offering discounted fares on […]

Director Ryan Coogler admits he was surprised by the initial feedback he got from the bigwigs at Marvel Studios when he began sharing his vision for its next franchise, Black Panther. After all, he was set to make a $200-million epic blockbuster; a popcorn movie that mixed dazzling special effects, heart-stopping action sequences and sprawling […]

At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Mary Ormsby of the Toronto Star took one look at the fit, spandex-laden forms of the cross-country skiers and declared: “I have found my new sport.” Ormsby wasn’t a typical out-of-shape scribe. She had been an all-American volleyball player at Ohio State, so knew athletics from both sides. […]

Almost Done!

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.

Postmedia wants to improve your reading experience as well as share the best deals and promotions from our advertisers with you. The information below will be used to optimize the content and make ads across the network more relevant to you. You can always change the information you share with us by editing your profile.

By clicking "Create Account", I hearby grant permission to Postmedia to use my account information to create my account.

I also accept and agree to be bound by Postmedia's Terms and Conditions with respect to my use of the Site and I have read and understand Postmedia's Privacy Statement. I consent to the collection, use, maintenance, and disclosure of my information in accordance with the Postmedia's Privacy Policy.